Early TV

I've blogged about being excited at first, hearing they'd be airing all the old "Lone Ranger" episodes a few years back, then being disappointed at how the acting was terrible, the story lines predictable. But when those programs first aired when we were kids the medium was in its infancy and we only had a choice of a couple channels. So we'd rise in the morning and watch the "Test Pattern" until that lame programming came on. I think part of the reason those old shows seem lame now is that we've seen the same story lines over and over again.
The plots were rehashed SO often...
"Lassie" did amazingly intelligent things, which were later repeated by "My Friend Flicka", then modified slightly so "Flipper" could do them in the water.

But the commercials...
They frequently were better than that programming, weren't they?
How many of them had a strong effect on ya?
"Sugar Frosted Flakes", "Ovaltine", "Buster Brown Shoes"...
I can remember those well. I know I pressured my parents to buy "Ovaltine" after watching "Captain Midnight"...
Do you remember the "Magic Decoder Ring", with which you could decode the message at the end of the program every week? (The message was always another commercial, like "Drink your Ovaltine for good health!") I was always sending 25 cents for shipping and handling along with my name and address to receive some "free" trinket advertised on whatever cereal I happened to be eating at the time, then day after day I'd check the mailbox to see if my new treasure had arrived.

Remember any commercials that motivated you?
What about the early TV programs?